You Found Me
by SexGodLautner
Summary: Holly has had a rough life thanks to her parent's divorce. When a friendship blossoms with a Grey, Holly is determined to keep him and his family away from the truth. The lies continue to roll off her tongue but will Christian Grey believe it or not? What Holly believes might not even be the truth after all.
1. Crush

**You Found Me**

* * *

**Chapter 1 - My First Crush**

**Holly Applelyn**

_September_

I never have any Holly time. I'm doing the same thing day in and day out each bloody day. It all starts off with getting my wanted lazy ass out of bed at 4:00 am in the morning to take Panda, our golden Labrador that has the cutest face in the world with big dark eyes, for a walk. I say 'wanted lazy ass' because I never have a time to sit down except for when I'm at school. Okay, so maybe I am a bit lazy. But does that count? Oh, I don't know. 4:00 am, yes I know that a stupid hour to walk Panda. But it's mainly for my six year old Brother, Rex. As much as I hate it, I have to leave him by himself with our alcoholic Mother Julia, who cares for no one but herself. She has a temper and she can be quite aggressive towards me and I wouldn't want her to harm Rex. So while they are both asleep it's the best time to walk my buddy Panda.

Returning back to the apartment, I feed Panda and myself on little scraps from last night dinner before cleaning the entire place. When I come home from work it's guaranteed that there are bottles of vodka or wine, rum or gin left scattered on the floor. I trip over them all the time. Since the electric has been turned off because I can't afford to pay the bill, I've been landing on my ass quiet frequently. Rex thinks it hysterical and that little mumble of laughter is worth every bruise and graze I get.

Rex means the world to me. That's why I have to keep him safe. He can't go into care; I won't let them take him away from me. That's why I've got myself a part time job at the ice rink and a bar job in the night time. Yes, I'm only fifteen and yes, I'm working at a bar. I gave my boss a false age after tarted myself up with Julia's clobber. It seems to do the trick with no questions asked. I know lying is bad and I wouldn't do it if I didn't have the choice, who else is going to pay the bills?

Julia won't, not after my Father Pete left her to be with his trampy blonde Nadine. That is when everything got worse, my life, her life, my Brother's life. The drinking flared up from there. Before she was a daily, one glass of red wine in the evening, woman. Now she just wastes the saved up money she has and won't give me a cent to pay for the bills.

Ugh, my family are all so selfish, even my older Brother Finley. He's about thirty one now and I don't have a clue where he is or what he's doing. We don't even know if he's had any children, I could be an Auntie for all I know. Since he left college, he left us also for good. No phone calls. No text messages. No letters. No communication. It's sad really. When I was growing up he was my best friend. Someone I could go to when I was feeling down or I could play with. I was six years old, the same age as Rex when he left. I guess he fell into the curse of the selfishness. I really hope I don't become a fool and dive into the selfishness like all of them.

By dawn the apartment is sparkling and smelling decent at least. We have a big and expensive apartment which Pete is paying for. He is super rich and when he still lived with us we had a huge family home. In his agreement with Julia they sold the house and shared the money between them and Pete continues to pay for the roof over our heads as long as she pays for the bills. Ha, like that ever happened. When the letters came flooding in, I knew we were going to be in major trouble if I didn't open them. I had a massive shock to see how much money we were owning to all the companies. It was ridiculous. Anyway, our home is okay. It's not the best furnished place in the world as we had to have second hand furniture to put in it. But I make it the best I can for Rex.

"Holly!" Rex squeals from the hallway, running like a loony before wrapping his arms around me with a tight squeeze.

"Morning my little dinosaur," I greeted, hugging my little Brother back. Apparently, I'm the only one who is allowed to call him a dinosaur. So every morning I make sure I take full advantage. Once, I tried to call him dinosaur all day that he eventually got sick and banned me to just the morning before school. "Did you sleep well?" I ask him, letting him go and ushering him towards the wooden tatty dining table for his breakfast. He sits down in front of his breakfast that I had already placed out. I couldn't help but comb my fingers through his tangled auburn hair. It's a right mop at the moment he needs it cut. That's something else I have to add into my busy diary.

"Mum kept me awake…" He honestly told me. One thing about my little Brother is that he never spouts a lie. Well, tries not to. Concerning our family private life he muffles around the situation and I'm very grateful that he's able to understand. "She kept banging and I heard bottles smash." _Why does that not surprise me at all? _ "I was going to come and tell you but I knew you needed your rest."

By the fear in his big blue eyes I could tell that he was scared last night, possibly even terrified. Guilt hits me like a ton of bricks and I find myself swooping down next to the chair and hugging him. I know this isn't my fault but I'm the only one now to keep him safe, make him smile and be happy.

"I'm sorry Rexy." I kiss his pale cheek making sure that I'm not pressing my lips to hard just in case his toothache flares up again. "You shouldn't have heard or felt like that." Rex opened his mouth to speak but I stopped him before he could. "Tonight when I finish at work, we'll swap our rooms around." Rex's room is next to Julia's, not my choice but hers. My room however is next to the bathroom and I can never hear Julia. "And I'll paint your room blue…" I think we have some blue paint spare under the kitchen sink.

Rex announces, "I don't like blue anymore Hols…"

I stand up, pull the chair next to him out and sit down. Cocking my head to the side I repeat, "You don't like blue anymore?" That shocked me. Blue has always been his favourite colour. Why the sudden change in heart?

Rex shakes his head side to side and he takes a mouthful of his breakfast.

"Why not?"

After he finishes munches on his spoonful of cereal he says, "It's not the _it_ colour anymore Sis. I like green now. It's a cool colour. It's absolute everywhere you look. Can you paint me a green bike on my wall like in my old room in the old house?"

Green huh? I don't have any green paint. I think I only have blue and a horrible rotten cream colour that won't mix for a green unfortunately for me. Maybe I could ask my boss if I can see if we have any in the back. We had a couple of walls painted in the ice rink to brighten up the place.

My Brother waits for my reply and when I look back down at him I smile. I can't disappoint that cheeky little face of his. "Sure," I promise. "It might take me a while to get it done…"  
"Take your time Hols." His grin is massive and I'm glad he's looking less scared unlike before. He turns to his bowl and continues to eat his breakfast.

Rex wondered as he handed me his bowl, "Have you eaten Holly?" Even though he doesn't have to he still worries about me.

"_Mmm-Hmm_…" I muttered as I placed the dish into the cold water in the sink. "Panda and I shared…"

"Good," He said with a clap of his hands before rubbing them together. "I'll brush my teeth…"

I warn before he could run off, "Be careful brushing that one on the side, Dinosaur."

He rolled his eyes at me. "I know I know… I will…"

Rex is having some tooth problems on his right hand side. I give him some medication to help but really I need to take him to the dentist. I can't afford the treatment he'll need though. Luckily, he understands that is why is so careful about eating and brushing. Each month I'm putting money aside for him to go but it's not building up as quickly as I would like.

Rex comes darting back on his short little legs. "Are they sparkling?"

"The fairy will love your teeth when they come out for bigger ones."  
"She's not having them just yet," He teased up towards the sky as if she, the tooth fairy, could hear him.

After tossing the towel on the counter I ask, "Get your gym kit and I think we are ready to leave…"

"Sure think," He said rushing off back to his room.

For Julia's breakfast I take her a bowl of cereal with the last bit of milk left. In her dark room, I could just make out the bottles lying across her floor. I pull her curtains back from the window to let the light in so I don't fall on my ass on the empties. As always Julia whinges and covers her eyes with the blanket. I shake my head at her and announce her breakfast is here if she wants it. If she doesn't then Panda will probably eat it.

Leaving Julia to kill herself in her own pit, I head out of her room and close the door. Rex is in the living room with his school bags in his hands. I take the one from him and dump it into my bicycle basket at the front before grabbing my hoodie from a hook and my own bag.

"Bye Panda!" I call out.

"Laters Panda!" Rex copies.

We grab our bikes and pushed them out of the apartment. I steady my bike against the wall outside and lock our door so no one can go wandering in accidently. Rex has already gone ahead of me down the stairs, dragging the bike along with him. I follow his lead and start taking my bike down the stairs which makes a bumping rhyme in my grasp. I wished we didn't live on the top floor. It's a living nightmare with our bikes. I don't trust our bikes down stairs they will probably get stolen or trashed and they are the only way to get around that's free at least.

After a short peddle we get to Rex's school. I help him secure his bike to the holders available. I pass him the key which he tucks into the safety of his bag. I give him a big hug and say, "Now have a good day and be a good boy. Be nice to Zeke too."

"I will. Don't you get into trouble either…" he warned me with a stern finger pointing towards me.

"I won't Dad!" I joked with him.

Rex hugged me again and said, "Go on you'll be late."  
"Bye Dinosaur!"

"Bye Hols."

As Rex said, I was fifteen minutes late for Mr Reeves' English class and I know he'll kick my ass today for disturbing the class and being late. Me and him just clash and I don't think there will be a day we don't argue.

* * *

**Caleb Grey**

* * *

Oh, there she is. I've fancied this girl since the start of elementary school. I haven't yet had the balls to even pluck up the courage to even speak to her since we started here a few years back. It seems stupid now but I asked my Dad if he'd let me come to this school to be with her instead of the school he insisted on with my Brother Teddy and Sister Phoebe. Dad isn't aware a girl was involved with the reason why. I just told him that I didn't want to be away from my friend Henry and he seemed to believe it.

Her name is Holly Applelyn and to everyone else thinks she is just a normal student who turns up late for school occasionally. But to me she is a stunning beauty that I have not seen in any other girl before. She has thick curly brown hair that falls pass her shoulders and down her back. As the fan blows it captures her fringe which is adorable as it sweeps to the left, hitting the ridge of her broken glasses. She's had those frames for a while now; she could do with some new ones. They are broken on the right side of the frame as she taped it up. Peeking from her glasses is her cute button nose that is covered with faint freckles which is another charming feature I adore about her.

Today on her lips is a straight line; I can't tell whether or not she's happy or sad. She tugs her rucksack off after getting a warning from Reeves and slings the bag down to the foot of the table across from mine. As she takes out her seat I capture the sweet smell of her perfume, the smell of peaches. It's wonderful. She slams her tiny body down into the seat besides Kyle who is a very lucky man, she huffs out a sigh. Something's wrong. Usually my apple trick will guarantee a shy smile. When no one is looking, apart from Kyle who's in on my secret, I place a green apple in front of her when she falls asleep. It's a bit cheesy but at least I always get that smile.

During our boring English lesson with Mr Reeves, Holly makes herself comfortable by leaning on her desk. Her arms are folded and she lays her head on top. Out of the corner of my eye, I see her blinking as she yawns, looking in my direction to the window outside. Within seconds she is out of it and falling asleep. When Kyle gives me the nod, I reach to my bag and get the apple. When Mr Reeves has his back turned I lean over and place the apple in front of Holly. I flinch back just as Mr Reeves rotates back. With a goofy grin plastered on my face, I smile brightly till my cheeks start to hurt.

Mr Reeves notices that Holly has fallen asleep, again. He has a disappointed expression on as he marches up the row and stands diagonally across from Holly. "HOLLY APPLELYN!" He screeches with an almost ear deafening sound I never would have thought would come out of his mouth. It even made me jump back into my seat.

Holly's reaction is priceless though. Unlike everyone else it just awakens her and not probably makes her jump out of her skin that Mr Reeves was going for. Instead her eyelashes flutter and she quickly makes herself composed again by adjusting her broken glasses. She sees the shadow on her desk and looks up with all blameless eyes.

"Er… Sorry Sir," She says innocently, ducking her gaze to the table looking guilty and realising why she's in trouble with him for.

Mr Reeves snaps his fingers and demands, "Report?"

She licks her dry lips before leaning down and digging around in her bag before returning into an upright position handing him the yellow report card.

"You are on a fine line already Holly," He says as he glances over the details on the card. "Why haven't your parents signed this for yesterday?"

"Um…" I could see her struggle for an answer for that. "I… erm… Forgot… I forgot to give it to them. I'll make sure it gets signed, don't you worry Mr Reeves."

At her reply he just grunts rudely and turns and walks back down the row. "You better Applelyn," He says at his desk, "Otherwise it's off to the principal's office and I doubt very much that she would like to see you in there."

Holly doesn't reply and Mr horrible Reeves carries on with his boring lesson that no one is paying attention to. From the corner of my eyes I watch Holly. She yawns, adjusts her glasses again, wipes her mouth on her sleeve before settling her brown soft eyes onto my daily surprise. Her lips tint into a small secret smile as she reaches out for the apple sitting in front of her. She rolls the apple in her hand and I hear the small sweet sigh drowning into the air. That makes me grin too. I see her looking to Kyle and he looks at her and shakes his head and shrugs his shoulders. She turns her head to me and I pretend to be concentrating on Mr Reeves. I so wasn't. My attention was all for Holly. She gave up once again to find out where this mysterious apple came from.

We all hear a loud sigh from the front of the classroom and my attention is snapped back as well as Holly's. "Holly, you can put your lunch away now," Mr Reeves barks.

* * *

**Holly Applelyn**

* * *

Every day this apple turns up on my desk in English. Someone put it there but no one will tell me who it's from. Kyle who should have witnessed it said he didn't have a clue and that Mr Reeves probably fancies me or something. I toss the apple between my hands, quickening the speed as I sit on the stairs at lunch time. Whoever this is I am grateful because this is all I'll have for lunch. They might not know it but it's what keeps me going during school.

After the very long day at school, I bike as fast as I can over to Rex's friend's house. "Hello Mrs Ravin," I say as she opens the door with a massive grin and wearing her cow printed apron. "I've come to collect Rex…"

"Holly lovely to see you again dear…" She says with a sweet politeness to her voice. Mrs Ravin is so wonderful I wished she was my Mother. "Are you taking him to work with you again Holly?"

I nod my head and shame shows on my face.

She steps out onto the step and closes the black door behind her leaving it ajar. "Rex is playing upstairs with Zeke on some game thing. He's okay here. How about you pick him up when you're done at work?"

I bite my lower lip not sure what to say to that.

"Go on dear; he'll be okay here…"

"Thank you Mrs Ravin I really appreciate this. I do finish at "

"Coming up!" Mr Ravin calls as he crosses the street, coming home from his day at the office. He takes the steps two by two before joining me on the same step. "Holly, how lovely to see you again."

"You too Mr Ravin," I say with a smile. I haven't seen him for a while as he took a business trip to New York. I thank them both for taking on my Brother for a while longer before skipping down the stairs to my bike.

I return to the cold apartment and walk Panda before work starts.

Out on the ice I skate around in the huge oval keeping a check on everyone. There are a few people I recognise from class. They must be here to unwind from the hard week at school. Katie, Ruby and Genny from art class are here, swirling around impressing some guys I recognise. Trevor, Max, William and Arthur are going around and around watching the girls with their tongues hanging out. They seem to think fooling around is the best way to get into the girls pants. I actually think from the smirk Katie is giving that it's working. Past them I see another group of people but I don't know them except from the guy in my English class. Caleb Grey. Oh June, Mark and Maddie are here too, they are our regulars and like to hang out here.

"Hey where are your gloves missy?" Josh my co-worker asks nosily.

I glance at my hands in front of me and they are burning up from the cold. "Left them at home… Again!" I seem to be saying that regularly these days. The truth is Panda thought it would be hilarious if she took them from my bag and chews on them. They don't even look like gloves anymore. Anyhoo! I can't afford to buy another pair but I know my buddy here will supply me when we're on the ice. He always carries two pairs with him. It's his pulling trick for the girls with no gloves. If they whinge about having cold hands he'll slide right up to them and let the magic gloves appear. They are always most grateful and ends up every time with a kiss or something more. However, in my case that never happens.

"Here babe put these on." Josh tosses the pair from his work pants and I catch them without letting them fall to the slippy ground.

"I owe you Josh!" I say, quickly whipping them on, letting them wool graze against the coldness of my skin making them warm up gradually.

"You should see if there is a spare set in lost property," Josh suggests.

"I will." Good idea. Why didn't I think of th –

I hear the loud yelp before the sound of the blades shredding the ice. I spin on my own skates to find Caleb Grey in the mix of people who have fallen over. As usual he is the most clumsiest here. I glide over to him and the rest of the poor people around him. A lad who Caleb grabbed down with him stands up and brushes the ice off him before laughing and joking with his mates about it. "You okay?" I ask Caleb who looks a little daze. I hold out my hand to help him up.

His gray eyes go wide and he licks his lips before looking down at my offer of my hand.

"If you don't take my hand then you won't be able to get up," I tell him.

At that he takes my hand and I help pull him up. He scratches the side of his head and mutters and embarrassed, "Thank you."

"No probs," I say before gliding swiftly back to the centre of the ice to Josh. From this distance I could hear his friends picking on him because he got helped up by a girl. It's my job dumbasses.

For the rest of my time on the ice Caleb Grey kept peering over to me. He caught me looking at him when he nearly went down again. I'm sure his eyes were searching for me to come and help but Josh seemed to get there first.

* * *

**A/N** - So this idea sort of came to me one day when I was at work. I hope you enjoy this first chapter. Let me know what you think by reviewing. There will be a few twist in the story and I can't wait to write them!


	2. Deal

**You Found Me**

* * *

**Chapter 2 - Deal**

Caleb Grey is the last person I have to swap skates for shoes for and I have a little feeling that he did it on purpose while his mates go and play on some of the arcade games behind him. "I didn't know you worked here…" He said handing over his skates.

Quickly, I looked at the number of the skates at the back of the heel. 904. "I didn't know how terrible you are at ice skating," I shot back, walking away to get his shoes. From where he leant at the small little desk, I heard him mumble a cute little smirk. I found his expensive looking trainers in the slot and swapped them over. I worried that I would ruin them by just touching them. They must cost a week's worth of my bills. It's crazy. I took them back and gently placed them on the small desk between us. "Here you go," I say in my friendly work voice.

"Maybe…" I watch carefully as he lifts his arm up and letting his fingers scratch the back of his neck, "…You could teach me?"

"Um," I licked my lips to stop the dryness, "Yeah maybe." My eyes flickered as Caleb reached for his trainers and saw blood on his finger. "Oh Caleb," I gasped, "Your bleeding." I reached down under the desk and grab the first aid kit and raced around to where he stood. "Come sit down."

Without inspecting it himself, he lifts his bleeding hand up in the air. "It is fine," he shrugged it off. "Just a scratch."

I frowned and said, "Do as your told Grey." My boss wouldn't be pleased how I'm speaking to him but hey – ho, he's in the office.

With his bad hand, Caleb salutes me, "Yes Miss Applelyn." He walks over and sits beside's me on a slight angle.

I grab his hand and his skin is soft and gentle to touch. I start off by wiping the blood away. Teasingly, I use a serious tone as I say, "Looks like you need stitches for this bad boy."

"What? It was just a-" he took his hand back to inspect his scratched finger. "Oh. Ha. Ha. Very funny Applelyn."

I laugh and gain his hand again to finish the rest of the job. "I think you'll be fine with just a band aid, no needles today."

Caleb makes a weird moan in the back of his throat whilst his body tremors with fear and his hand shakes in mine.

Whilst I place the band aid over the scratch, I ask, "Phobia of needles, ah?"

"Mmm-Hmm…" He responded, bobbing his head up and down. He obviously didn't want to talk about it either.

"Don't worry about it; everyone has a phobia of something."

He then questions me, "So what's yours?"

_Afraid the bills won't get paid. _"Um, making phone calls."

He pulled a face at me as if he heard the most craziest thing in the world. "No way, really?"

I nod my head and let go of his hand, packing up the first aid kit.

"But phone calls are an everyday necessity…" Caleb said with a stunned pitch. "What do you hate about them?"

"Everything," I answer, "Not knowing what the person on the other end looks like freaks me. Then what they think of the phone voice. Everyone has one. Then I always think I'm an utter ass on the phone and I'll muck it up somehow."

"Okay, make a deal with me…"

"A deal?" I repeat.

"You help me with the ice skating issue and I'll help you get over your fear of phone calls."

Big boss came out of the door then and I had a feeling that I am in trouble for leaving my post but I got a good reason why I am not there. Thankfully he didn't come out to whinge at me like he would usually do. "Holly phone!"

"O.K." I call back, packing up the first aid kit. I lift my gaze up at to Caleb and smiled at him. "I'll, um, see you around clumsy."

With a cute little wink in his eye he said, "You will. Do we have a deal?"

"Yeah sure."

Nervously, my stomach pinged as I picked up the medical box and carried it into the office where the boss held the phone for me. I gulped before lying the box onto a cabinet and then reach out for it. I tangle my fingers through the cord before putting on a cheery voice as I greet, "Hellooo?" In my chest, my heart pounds at a very fast speed.

"Holly its Mrs Ravin. My dear-"

The smile on my face automatically drops off my face so quickly and my heart is plummeting faster by the second that it's a wonder I don't have a heart attack with all this strain. I cut her up so quickly I need to know what's happened, "Is everything okay?" I know it is unusual for her to be calling unless something is wrong with Rex. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong sweetie. Rex is fine. I'm only calling to ask if Rex could stay the night, if that is okay with your Mother? Poor thing is flat out tired and sleeping on the recliner with Zeke."

"Oh, I'm sorry Mrs Ravin. He didn't sleep well last night."  
"There is no need for an apology Holly. We love having him here and Zeke does too…" I could hear the smile rising on her beautiful features without even seeing it. "You don't need to worry about bringing clothes over either. "Rex can have some of Zeke's clothes."

"Aw, thank you Mrs Ravin. What time shall I pick him up?"  
"Anytime tomorrow evening honey…"

In true Seattle style it bucketed it down with heavy, not going to stop for a long while, rain. The air is so cool I can feel it through my hoodie knowing goose bumps have appeared underneath the thin fabric. The sky is light and I can see the gray shimming effect on the car bonnets where the sound of heavy droplets clink against the cars all parked up. I pull the hood of my hoodie up and swing my bag on my back. I get onto my bike and brave the cold weather. If I don't then I'm going to be late for my second job. As I peddle along the pavement, a black car pulls up beside's me and my name gets called out by a familiar sounding name. I cram the brakes on and a high pitch cry comes from my tires. Cringing at the noise, I glance to my side to see who the mystery person is. Caleb Grey is sitting at the back of the car with a huge grin on his face. Is he stalking me? "Need a ride?"

As the raining hit me fast, the water travelled all over my face and through my glasses making me blink a few times to see, I reply, "Um, I'm okay." I forced a smile out because I wanted to be polite and not be a horrible bitch even if I'm standing in the rain. "Thanks though."

A man from the driver side got out of the car whilst Caleb tries to encourage, "Come on, it's raining."

Duh, I can see that! Thankfully, the driver covered me with his huge black umbrella and sheltered me from the heavy down pour. "I'm an exercise junky. Rain or shine," I lied. I hated exercise, hate the gym and hate anything to do with moving off the couch. Unfortunately, my life involves sports and exercise on a daily basis and I can never wriggle out of it like the Barbie's at school that have time of the month every darn week.

"Please holly, you'll catch a cold."

Caleb isn't going to give up and I guess I could do without a cold because I know if I get one I'll just pass it off to Rex. Then, I know for a fact it will be more worse then what I had so I nod my head and get off the soaked bike. The kind driver juggles by holding the door open with the umbrella in his hand and balancing my bike that he said he'd put in the trunk for me. "Thank you," I said to him before slipping next to Caleb who is wearing a big grin on his face/

"Here take this…"Caleb said shrugging off his black jacket.

I waved my hand to stop him, "No no… Honestly I'm fine."

"Shut up Applelyn and do as you're told," he says cheekily. "If you take yours off you'll be better off and be much warmer."  
I know that if he puts that jacket onto my hoodie he'll ruin his with the dampness. So I had no choice in the matter then to take my hoodie off. I never take my jacket off because I know I'll have bruises on my arms that I haven't covered up.

Caleb's reaction suddenly hit as he saw the worst ones from yesterday, "Bloody hell Holly, what did you do? Get yourself in a fight with a giant bear?"

"Something like that…" I say covering everything up with his nice warm designer jacket that probably cost more than my electric bill that I can't afford.

The driver got into the car after dealing with my bike. He glanced through the rear-view mirror, "Where to Miss?"  
I gave him the street name of where I work and Caleb raised an eyebrow, obviously knowing where that is. "That street is full of bars and clubs," he said with surprise filling his tone.

An instant lie came shooting out of my mouth, "It's where Julia works…"

"Julia?" he questioned, not knowing who she is.

_Nasty. "_Parent."

Caleb made an 'O' with his lips as the driver started the car and drove in my directions. "Why don't you call her Mum for? I assumed everyone did."

"We're like cat and dog, we don't get on."

"I see."

_Have you finished with the questions now? _"Is there a particular reason why you don't get on?" No. I thought he couldn't last without asking one more.

I shrug my shoulders I don't have a proper answer for that.

There was a short silence between us. I was hoping for another question but I don't get one. I wait and wait, watching the buildings pass by. I look through the windows at clothes shops and dream to own a coat that cost so much, to have so many clothes they don't fit in one wardrobe and to have a choice in what to wear. I used to have that life but not anymore.

"So our deal," Caleb starts. Capturing my attention away from the window, I turn to see his handsome face. His sensuous gray eyes hold onto mine for a short moment as ting of nervousness echo's in my empty stomach. Whoa, never had that feeling before. Caleb has a cute face. He has dark short spiky hair, flawless soft skin and bold eyes with long dark eyelashes framing them. I watch his thin lips as he continues, "When shall we start with our lessons?"

I shake myself out of my stare. What am I doing? This is just wrong. "When are you free?"

"Anytime. When are you next working?"

"Tomorrow at five again…" I groan at the thought. "The boss isn't in tomorrow so I'll be able to help you more."

"That's super cool beans with me." He then slips in, "So what's your cell number?"

I find myself repeating, "Cell number?"

"Yeah, cell number?" he says again

"Um." I awkwardly knot my fingers together tightly and I feel so embarrassed because everyone has one except me. He's going to think I am a right loser. "I don't actually own a phone."

Caleb shakes his head side to side with a bewildered expression on his face. "How do you live without a phone?"

"Perfectly actually."

"Ah, I get it. It's because of your phobia."  
"Exactly." I smiled at him.

"_Mmm… _well that has to change soon."

Before I could whinge at Caleb the driver announces, "Here we are Miss."

"Oh," I gasped. Well that was a quick drive. "Thank you…" The driver got out of the car whilst I gazed back across to Caleb. "I'll um, see you tomorrow in class."

"Sure thing Holly…"

I started to shrug his jacket off and he stopped me and told me to give it him tomorrow because it's still raining out and I'll end up with a huge cold or something much worse. As I said goodbye and got out, Caleb reached over and put the hood over my head. I couldn't help but give him a thankful smile over my shoulder as I climbed out of the vehicle. I slam the door shut for the driver as he waited with the umbrella and bike. "Thanks again," I said as I shove my hoodie into the basket at the front.

"Pleasure Miss…" He paused for a short moment. "Sorry I didn't catch your last name?"

"Applelyn. Holly Applelyn."

"Miss Applelyn," he says with a nod of the head. He twists and returns back to the car.

Without looking behind me as the car passes by, I head into work and put my back out in the back where I know it'll be safe to keep there with the other girl's bikes. I hang up Caleb's jacket in my locker before obtaining my work uniform. I have a black shirt with the bar logo on the breast pocket, black miniskirt that shows my curvy bum and practically everything with my black pumps. I hate the uniform but if that is what the boss wants the boss gets. Thinking about the boss I go in search of him. The bar girl I work with tells me he's upstairs in the private lounge watching the football.

Upstairs is where I find him sat back in the middle of the sofa with his legs wide open and his trousers stretching the too maximum.

"Excuse me," I say with a small voice, not wanting to interrupt him. "May I have a word please?"  
"Have two Holly," He says. He pulls his flashy shades down as he looks up and down before pointing to the table in front of him. "Sit."  
I nod and walk over and sit on the glass table, making sure my skirt is tucked under my bum for coverage it will allow me.

"What can I do for you love?" He questions as his eyes remain on my lap. I cover it up quickly and hold my hands in place to stop him looking.

"I was wondering if there is a possible chance to get an advance on my wages?"

His thin face suddenly went hard as his evil eyes glared up at me. "Oh Holly, you know I don't do that here."

"It's really urgent," I beg.

"I can send you to another club for a night and-"

I shake my head. "No I don't want to be a stripper." God I am way too young to do that and I wouldn't even be able to do that. Bar work is the only think I'll do or cleaning which ever but he's not going to hand me over any money, not till the end of the month.

He replaces his glasses up against his eyes and says, "Then I am afraid it's a no then."

Work was hell. I had guys all over me, touching my bum and breast that they said was accidental. My ass! I told security but they didn't care thanks to my boss who wanted to give the customers an added bonus with their damn drink. I hate working here but times are hard when trying to get a job these days. I got through the shift though and it's time to go home. With my bike and Caleb's jacket I headed out into the dark night. Luckily, the rain had finally stopped so that was my bonus for the day.

At home I thought if I crept around the apartment then I wouldn't wake Julia but that plan is ruined instantly. I found her in the dark with a bottle of vodka on the sofa. She stood up and started demanding where her Son was.

"He's at the Ravin's house," I assure her of his safety. "He fell asleep."

"I want him here at home with me. I am his Mother…"

"Funny way of showing it…"

She stepped closer to me and slapped me around the face. I winced at the sharp stab of pain crossing my cheek. "Now you listen here girl. I want my Son back here. So you better get your ass out of this apartment before I throw you out myself."

Instead of taking my bike I decided to run out of the apartment as quickly as possible with Panda pounding besides me. She obviously didn't want to be in the same room as wicked witch of the west.

In the early morning hours, I knock on the door loudly with the gold knocker on the front of the door. After the third bang, a light pops on and someone unlocks the door. I feel so bad to have to get the Ravin's up this early. I didn't want to disturb him at all.

"Holly?" Mr Ravin said tiredly as he opened the door.

"I am sorry to do this Mr Ravin's but I need to take Rex home. We've had a family incident tonight and Julia just wants him home." Now that was a compete lie and I hate it.

"Oh Holly," he gasps, ushering me to come in with Panda. "I hope everything is okay…"

"It will be…"

Rex came down the stairs rubbing his exhausted eyes. He eyed Panda first and then me and with his little expression that said, 'what on earth is wrong now?'

"Sorry Champ…" I say apologetically, holding out his coat for him to put it on.

Mr Ravin asked, "Would you like me to take you home Holly?"

I shake my head. "Thanks but no thanks. One of our Uncles has parked around the corner. Panda for some reason for she'd tag along." Rex looks extremely tired so I picked him up. He's not so heavy so it doesn't kill my back. "I'll come back for the bike tomorrow if that's okay?"

"Of course Holly. I'm sorry again. Safe journey home."

Panda followed me down the stairs and round the corner to the safety of our privacy. I grabbed my bag that I dumped and headed down loads of different streets. Usually it would be quicker but tonight, walking it, it takes forever to get to where I want to. Rex asked questions and I told him the truth that Mum wanted him home. When we don't turn down the street he wonders why we're going in the wrong direction.

"Where are we actually going Hols?"

I turn to the lighten building and say, "We're here."

Rex leaned back to look at me. "The dry cleaners but I thought we washed our clothes the other day?"

"We did but this is for my soaked hoodie." I don't have another hoodie and I have to give Caleb's his back. "I got caught in the rain as I went to work from work."

"You work too hard," He tells me with a tired voice, leaning his head back down on my shoulder.

I went into the bare dry cleaners and settled Rex down on the bench in the middle. Panda jumped up too and made herself comfortable. I put my hoodie into the washer before settling myself down. I let Rex lean on me and I brushed his hair back from his forehead. "I'm sorry about taking you from your bed. It's not safe at home at the moment. But go to sleep and when you wake up you'll be in bed fast asleep," I promised him.

* * *

** A/N** - Review and let me know what you think?


	3. Arrangements

**You Found Me**

* * *

**Chapter 3 - Arrangements**

I kept my promise to my Brother.

I managed to wash my hoodie and dry it too before picking up Rex and carrying him home without dropping him. Panda followed and luckily she picked up the bag with my hoodie in where I left it on the bench. She is such a cutie and good girl. At least she won't need a walk this morning. She should be okay. I had to juggle Rex and getting keys out of my pocket to let ourselves in. When we all got in I saw Julia sprawled out on the sofa, surrounded by bottles of gin, vodka and cans of beer. Ignoring the mess for a moment I took Rex to my bedroom and tucked him in. I leave the room for a second and grab his blanket because I know my room is the coldest and my blanket is thin and won't keep him warm at all. So I cover him with his blanket to keep him warm. I bend down and kiss his forehead and say, "Goodnight," in a tiny whisper. Panda joined him and took the space at the bottom of the bed so I rubbed her just under the chin just how she likes it to leave them to sleep peacefully.

Once I dealt with the bottles and tossed them into the recycling I knew I had to deal with the boozed up Julia. So I grabbed her wrist and pulled her off the sofa and dragged her all the way to her room. I didn't even bother to put her onto her bed. She got into that state herself so she can have a rough night's sleep for all I care.

I scream out loud as the shocked awakens me abruptly.

"Jesus Hols," Rex says giving me an odd look and then I realise I haven't got my glasses on. "It's just me and Panda… Jeez!"

I let myself calm down with some deep breath; it almost felt like a panic attack but the pain easies off as I sit up in Rex's bed. Digging my hand into Caleb jacket pocket I withdraw out my glasses and replace the tatty things back on.

Rex tilts his head and wonders, "Why have you got that jacket on?"

"Nosey aren't you, dinosaur," I responded with ruffling his messy hair.

All cockily he replies, "Making polite conversation actually…"

I laugh at my Brother and decide to get off his bed. I realised that Rex is already dressed for school. Bless him he let me sleep a little longer. "A friend gave it to me to borrow…"

Rex's instant reaction was to frown at me. "You don't have any friends Holly…"

"I do," I shot back. He gave me one of those, 'Don't you lie to me Holly Applelyn,' looks. So I decided to correct myself. "Well, I have one now."

"Boy or girl?"

Gosh, what is with all the questions? "Does it matter?"

"No," He shakes his small head. "But to me, yes."

I roll my eyes at him and leave his room to walk back to mine. He followed me and so did Panda. Is it follow the leader time or something. I opened my door and went inside my room to grab his blanket and went back in his direction. He still wants an answer from me. "It's a boy I've known for some time."

"Who?"

"Caleb Grey, you wouldn't know him." I go into Rex's room to make his bed. When I glance over my shoulder towards the door I see Rex watching me with a grin attached to his cheeky features. Panda is sitting beside's him with her tongue hanging out.

"He _likes_ you…" Rex announces, dragging out the 'like' as if Caleb likes me more than a friend.

"No he doesn't," I say tucking the blanket in.

"I've watched the films Holly…"

I turn around and decide I need to take a cold shower because I probably stink from all the running around I did yesterday at work. I walked up to Rex and said, "He was making a polite gesture, actually." I stick out my tongue to my Brother.

He crossed his arms over his chest. "Whatever Holly." He twisted himself around and skipped down the hallway to the main living area. "My Sister's got a boyfriend."

"A friend Rex. Just a friend."

* * *

**Caleb Grey**

* * *

I tug my bag strap closer to my shoulder as I wait impatiently by the front door. "Dad come on, I'm running late!"

The sound of heals caught my attention and I looked up at the stairs to see my Mum stepping down them. "Sweetie," She says checking her watch, "You have plenty of time to get to school."

I shake my head. "Not today Mum." I need to get there early to speak to Mr Reeves and Kyle. "DAD! Come on otherwise I'm going without you!"

Dad appeared in his usual suit attire from the kitchen. "You haven't had breakfast Caleb. We're not leaving to you do."

_Not today Dad! _"I'll grab something at school, now can we please get a move on."

"Caleb," His voice was thick of warning. So I dumped my bag quickly and rushed into the kitchen. My Sister had a plate of toast so I stole a slice.

"Caleb, get your own!" Phoebe whined, trying to slap my hand away but she is too slow. Teddy is laughing at her and she grumbles at him, "It's not funny Teddy!"

"Thanks Sis…" I said cramming the toast into my mouth and heading back to the front door, leaving her to get all stressed out over a bit of toast. "Happy?" I asked Dad where he was stood all wrapped up in Mum. Ugh, get a room!

"A piece of toast doesn't count as breakfast…"

"Whatever Dad. I need to go."

I managed to have a word with the teacher before our lesson and he said I can swap with whoever I wanted as long as it wasn't with the naughty students and I think Holly is it that category as she's always in trouble with him. However, Kyle isn't in that list so I searched for him and find him with a gang of guys. I pull him away and beg him to swap seats.

"You really like her don't you?" He said with a smirking grin on his face as he leans against a wall with his arms folded over his chest.

"Well duh…" That's why I'm asking you to move your but for me!

"Dude you need to ask her out already. Stop putting it off. Go in for the kill and put everyone out of their misery buddy."

I scratch my head. I can't do that. Not yet anyway. "I'm working on it. Just swap with me okay?"

"I'm not swapping for free…"

"I'll buy you breakfast for a week…."

"Three weeks…"

"Two…"

"No chance. Three."

"Two and half."

Kyle shakes his head.

"Fine…" I grab my wallet from my pocket and hand over a load of cash that should last for three weeks.

* * *

**Holly Applelyn**

* * *

I went into the classroom with my hood up and I knew as soon as I passed Mr Reeves' desk he would notice and moan like he usually does. I swear he just hates me. "Holly…" I thought he would. "What have I said about that hood in my classroom?" He barks as normal. I don't think a lesson with him would never be normal without hell yelling or telling me off.

"Sir," I just greet him whilst uncovering my head and flicking out my curly hair. Looking up, I saw something odd and unusual that doesn't normally happen in this lesson. I actually have to look twice just to make sure I am seeing correctly and that my eyes and glasses aren't failing me. Nope they're not. Caleb is sitting in Kyle's chair. "Um, hey…" Okay so know I am confused. What's going on here? I look from Caleb to my right to see Kyle in Caleb's seat. Why have they swapped? Shaking my head in confusion, I take my seat next to a bright smiling Caleb Grey.

"Reeves said we should trade cuz' the kid next to me keeps disturbing me from my work and I can't concentrate," He informs me.

"I see…" I pick up my bag and realise I can give him back his jacket. "Here…"

"Hoodie dried quickly then?"

I yawn and quickly cover my mouth, trying to cover up my tiredness. Afterwards I sarcastically say, "See there is a thing called a tumble dryer and it dries clothes so they aren't wet anymore…"

Caleb finds it hilarious and bumps his shoulder into mine.

"Holly homework!" Mr Reeves snapped, almost giving me another nightmare like Rex did this morning.

"Balls!" I call out getting the other students attention once again. I knew I should have stayed up and pulled an all-nighter because I knew there was something I was meant to do. Ball! Bollocks! Fuck! I make sure I put on my sweet innocent tone, "I am really really sorry Mr Reeves, I've – um – forgotten to do it."

"You've forgot?"He repeats.

Yes, that is what I said idiot. "Yes Sir…" I'm going to be in trouble now even thought I putting on my best cute innocent face on.

"After school detention Holly, you can do it then and you won't forget."

I thought of Rex instant struck my mind. "Sir, I can't."

"Do you want this to go on your report card?"He threatened.

"It will anyway," I huffed. "Can it be another day like Monday night Sir?" At least that way I can get Mr and Mrs Ravin's to look after Rex for me. "Please, I'm really busy tonight." Plus I'll get the sack and I can't be having that. I need the money to get the electric going again.  
"Next time you slip up Holly, it will be on my terms not yours, understand?"

I nod my head. Yes.

When he goes Caleb makes me laugh by saying, "He's one giant ass!"

"You can say that again!" I laughed.

Reeves decide to actually make us do work this morning instead of listening and babble on about his favourite subject Romeo and Juliet. Normal when he talks so much I fall asleep and he'll wake me up and the apple will appear on my desk.

"I have to apologise," Caleb took my attention away from my scribbling writing. "I can't make it tonight as we planned." His gray eyes saddened as he looked down to the desk, not wanting to disappoint me.

"Maybe another time…" I say, hoping it would raise his spirits slightly.

"My Dad decided he wanted a family night in," Caleb groans, letting his fingers curl up into a fist. "I'm not happy about it and I tried to make an excuse but what my Dad says goe-"

"Caleb, I get it. You don't need to explain. Go have fun with your family and make the most of the time you have with them." I sure knew if my family was like it used to be with Pete and Finn at home I would have love to have a family Friday night. No matter what we were doing I would have just been happy to be with them. I'd give anything to have just one night with nothing hanging on my shoulders and just have fun. Even to see a smile on Julia's face brighten up a bit would be pleasant to.

"Okay," Caleb says shyly. "How about you come over for dinner on Sunday afternoon?"

_WHAT?! _ "I can't I'm looking after my little Brother." I quickly added, "And that isn't an excuse to say no by the way."

Surprise swooped over his features. "I didn't know you had a Brother."

"Yeah I do. He's called Rex. He is six but acts like 12 though…"

"Awesome, bring him along with you then."

I grimaced. "Your parents wouldn't want a kid running around the place."

"Believe me they would love it. They're hopefully going to adopt a little girl soon."

That blew me away. "Wow, that's amazing… Are-"

He cut me off with a question I was expected, "So you'll both come then? We can practice phone calls like we promised." That's not going to make me want to join you for Dinner, idiot! He turned into begging as I didn't answer straight away, "Please Holly."

"We would love to…" I finally answered, not sure if I really want to go out on Sunday.

Reeves made us stop writing and switched off the light to show us another part of the Romeo and Juliet classic film. I smiled to myself and as I cross my arms on the desk and lay my head on them. The weight of my eyes felt really really heavy and I could no longer hold myself back from the sleep.

With my apple that I had found on my table once again, I sat on the staircase and tossed it back and forth between my hands. Caleb pauses in front of me. "You going to eat that?" He asks, pointing towards my nice green apple that someone has kindly given me.

I smile. I really wish I could thank whoever keeps putting them there. "Eventually," I answer. I'm starving to the core but I don't know when I'll be able to next feed myself. I'd rather let Rex and Panda have the food before myself. I'm saving the apple for when I feel like I've hit the pit at the bottom and can no longer go without food.

"You all by yourself?"  
I don't answer, not wanting to feel like Billy no mates.

"Fancy joining my crazy bunch?"

"I'm sure they wouldn't want me around being a nuance…." Caleb didn't say anything but he leant in and took my hand in his and pulled me up effortlessly. "Oh…O-okay."

I feel a little out of my comfort zone. I don't like interaction with any other student. Well, students I don't know too well. That is why I sit on the stairs because nobody bothers me.

"No fucking way!" A girl's dark eyes clasp onto me when we walk up to a random table and I feel like I should walk away and return to my quite area. She rubbed her eyes and said, "Am I seeing things?"

Caleb ignored her and forced me out of where I shied behind him. "Guys, this is Holly Applelyn." Caleb safe eyes turned to me. "Holly this is Charlie…" He is so damn cute with his sweeping fringe that almost over his amazingly blue eyes. "Matt…" He was okay, not as good looking as Charlie though. He has brown soft eyes and a pointy nose with a thin face. "Damien…" I recognised him from the boy gym class, he's hot too. "And lastly Aimee…" Aimee is looking directly at Caleb like she is looking for answers. She has bleached blonde, short hair that curl slightly at the ends. She can pull it off with her pale face and piercing big dark green eyes.

"Nice to meet you," Matt said first.

"You too," I said nervously, withdrawing my sloppy hand away from Caleb's. I don't want him to feel the beads of sweat that are looming against my skin wanting to burst out from all this apprehension.

"Don't you ever go to the opticians; looks like you need new glasses?" Charlie asked as Caleb forces me to slip myself down onto the seat. Caleb joins me and I decide to concentrate my attention on the apple, twisting it this way and that.

"I will do at some point." Jeez, was there any need to point that out?

"Don't worry about these jerks. They don't mean to be…"

" An Ass'?" I asked, thinking of Mr Reeves. Caleb rumbled a laughter also thinking back to our morning lesson of English. I glance across the table at Aimee and she was staring like she could kill me. Oh dear.

"So Holly," Damien captures my attention. "Where did you meet Caleb?"

"We've known each other for ages," I answer still feeling that sick feeling of anxiousness. "Since elementary school…"

"You still remember those old days?" Caleb wondered raising an eyebrow up.

I remember when we were on the play area and I crossed the monkey bars first and sat down at the other end waiting for Caleb to join me. We were friends back then. As I got down and stood on the bark, Caleb comes flying across but he paused. Stupidly I was waiting for him to fall and when he did he landed smack on top of me. Caleb did bang his head and I was more worried over him then myself. I took him straight to the nurse office where the lady fixed his head with a Band-Aid.

"Hard not to forget when I had you butt on my head."

Caleb smiles and then winces. "Sorry that must have hurt…"

"You do have a giant ass!"

"You looked?"  
"How could I not when it was in my face?"  
"Good point…"

The table suddenly went quiet and we realised we were the only ones talking. We both looked up to see the four of them, Charlie, Matt, Damien and Aimee are staring at us in shock as we talked about are childhood days.

* * *

**A/N – **Thank you so much for your reviews! They're awesome!


	4. Meeting the Greys

**You Found Me**

* * *

**Chapter 4 – Meeting the Greys**

A loud rhythmic knock came unexpectedly at the door but I knew instantly who it is. "Oh fuck a duck, he's early!"

I heard the little surprised gasp from my Brother and instantly covered my own mouth. "Holly Applelyn," He said with a serious tone, just like a parent would. "You said a bad word."

Rex looks adorable as he stands in front of me with his best smart clothes, a white shirt, red small tie and some blue jeans. I know jeans aren't a smart but I searched for hours through our old stack of clothes for his black trousers. When I eventually found them, they were too small for him. So the jeans were the best and only choice I had for him. For me, I went with a navy dress that covers up most of me. I call it my choir dress because it certainly looks the part. To shoosh it up a bit, I add an orange platted style belt around my waist to give me a bit of shape. For some reason I want to impress the parents. I know I don't have to but at least they won't think we're poor. These people are always spread across the papers and I don't want to look naff in front of them.

"I know…" I said, hanging my head to the floor, feeling ashamed I used bad language in front of him. "I'm sorry…." I'm glad he put me in my place though. "It just slipped out… won't happen again." Another knock appeared at the door so I call out, "Just a minute."

As I peeked up from underneath my eyelashes I saw him with crossed arms and tapping his foot against the wooden floor like he is real mad with me. I also see him with the back of his shirt hanging out so I kneel down to his level and fold my legs under myself before tucking it back in for him.

"Are you nervous?" He asks me as I move onto his cute tie, pushing it up a little bit more. Panda came past us and her happy tale smacked the back of my back.

_Yes._ "…Maybe," I answer.

Rex then goes onto explain, "Jennifer at school says, 'maybe' all the time… but really she means yes."

"Okay smart ass, I am." I laugh at him before getting onto the serious stuff. "Remember what I told you. If they ask about our parent's say-"

He cuts me off, "They're divorced and everything is dandy. I know I'm not a four year old blabber mouth anymore, Holly."

I restrained myself from shaking his adorable cheeks; instead I pull him into my arms for a cuddle. "Please stay as you are and never grow up…" I wished, kissing the top of his hair.

"Holly," He said my name with the tone like I'm going mad, pushing away from me. "Everyone grows up, even you know that."

I laugh. "I know."

"Can we go now?" He asks eagerly, rubbing his stomach, "I'm starving."

"Sure."

I stood up and shook my dress to get rid of the dog hairs. As I brush them off they fall and scatter onto the floor. Before Rex opens the door I ask him to wait so I can catch up to be with him. From the hook, I grab his coat and nod for him to open it.

"Hey," I greet Caleb early with a small wave of my hand. I glanced at what he's wearing to see he's in a blue shirt with the top few buttons undone, his chest is hair free. I'm so glad he's wearing black jeans at least Rex isn't the only one at least. Oh and he's got his black jacket too… I thought he might not have worn it again after I did. "You're early," I say, spinning around to lock the door as I feel Caleb's eyes travel over me, drinking every part of my outfit in.

"Um…" He licks his lips as I return to face him. "… I thought we could take your dinosaur to the park before dinner."

Rex frowned and put him in his place too, "I'm Rex, not a dinosaur!"

Caleb smiled and squatted down to Rex's level just like I did before. "I'm Caleb." He held his hand out. "Nice to meet you, Rex not a dinosaur…"

Rex giggled at his new name and took Caleb's big hand and shook with a firm grip like gentleman on a business trip. In a posh snooty tone Rex says, "Pleasure."

"Rex," I caught his attention away from Caleb. I held his green coat up by the shoulders and let him put his arms through. He zipped it up and smiled back at Caleb.

"Ready?" Caleb wondered, looking from Rex to me back to Rex again.

"All set…" Rex said marching like a solder to the stairs.

I mumble a laugh at my little Brother. He's so funny.

Caleb bumped his shoulder into mine as we started for the stairs, "He's a smart kid for his age."

"Yes," I agree before adding, "He had to grow up quickly." Oh jeez, why did I have to add that?

He gasped questioningly, "Oh?"

I went on to explain, "Our parents are divorced so he's technically speaking the man of the house and of course he takes it literally."

I study Caleb's lips knowing he's eager to ask more questions but my little monkey stops him. "Come on slow coaches," Rex shouts from a lower staircase. "Do you need mobility scooters or what?"

We laughed together and I was glad Caleb had dropped the questions that lingered on his lips. I don't really fancy explaining myself. Instead he guided me and trouble to the park which wasn't too far away from our apartment.

Kindly, Caleb brought us all ice cream but I insisted on paying with the little money I had in my bag. But like a gentleman he said he couldn't see me pay for anything and would refuse me to pay. Rex wolfed his down in seconds so he must have been starving like he said. He ran off to the play area where three other children his age were playing. It didn't take him long to make friends and to start playing in their games.

Caleb and I found a small bench to sit on as we eat our ice creams and watch my Brother. Then all of a sudden Caleb asked, "It must be hard to have divorced parents, is everything okay now?"

I took on my own plan and replied with, "Everything is dandy…" And let a fake smile spread across my face. This lying isn't an easy job.

Caleb shook his head from side to side. "I can't imagine what it's like to have a broken home. My family are pretty close together. You'll see later." _Great._ "Do you see your Father at weekends or?"

Knowing I have to answer the question now, I say, "We don't get to see our Father thanks to his new Barbie."

"Not keen on her then?"

"No…" I say with annoyance. "She thinks she is better than everyone else. She's even turned our Father into something he isn't. She has got so much control over him and that's why we don't see him anymore."

"I see." He seems to drop it because he knows I'm firing up and don't want to talk about it. I'm glad really because I'm telling a stranger all about my messed up world and I don't actually want to.

We continue to chat about school while we finish our ice cream before we head over to the play area. The three other children are leaving and I didn't want Rex to play on his own.

* * *

**Caleb Grey**

* * *

When Holly opened her front door I was absolutely blown away. She looks gorgeous. I can't keep my eyes off her. My eye traced over her body and all her curves. She has an amazing body even though she has it covered up it up with that dress. The things I would like to do to her grab her by the waist; push her up against the wall, letting my hands wander until I slowly reach for her neck. I want to create goose bumps all over her skin, wanting her to respond to my every touch. I'll tease her by kissing her neck before the corner of her mouth. I want her to beg for more.

But then the images of what I want to do with her suddenly become invaded by the fact her little cheeky looking Brother is standing in front of me, starring. He is such a smart and bright kid for his age I was actually taken aback by his intelligence. He is so cute.

When he walked ahead down the stairs I mentioned his brightness to Holly and that brought the topic of her parent's divorce up. I can't visualize what that must be like, difficult for start. She seemed a little narked even though she didn't display it. Her tone gave it all away.

Once we got interrupted by her Brother again, I decided not to mention it. Well, not till I got to the park because I wanted to find out more about her. She seemed to be more open in the park while we ate ice cream as she told me about her Father's new Barbie toy. I can't believe she doesn't see her Father. I don't blame her for being so infuriated with Barbie. I just can't imagine my Father not being there for me. I couldn't picture him with any other woman. My Mother and Father are just soo… perfect for one another.

After chatting and having a laugh we decided to go closer to the play area to keep Rex entertained. When I noticed the wind picking up, I glanced towards Holly and see her shiver. She didn't bring her jacket but it made me wonder if she owned a proper jacket because I've only seen her in the same hoodie she must love. I don't question her about it because she is cold and I'm wearing a jacket. I hold it out to her and force her to take it even though she said she was fine. She wasn't she is just being polite. She wrapped it around her and hugged it towards her chest taking comfort of the warmth once again.

Leaving her to stand alone, which I didn't want to do, I went in chase after her little Brother Rex. He weaved himself in and out of the play area squealing his head of saying, "You can't catch me I am the ginger bread man." He made me go through tunnels which I didn't think I would fit through but I managed it, climb up a rocky part before going on the monkey bars. I could see at the corner of my eye that Holly is secretly holding her laughter in.

"Don't let him fall on you Rex. He's got a big butt…" She tells him and I couldn't help join in the laughter.

Rex paused before he could run off and climb something else. He was waiting to see if I could do it. Of course I could. My legs are so long I can touch the ground and both Rex and Holly laughed at me. That's when I took off into a run to chase after both of them. Rex giggled like a trouper and hid through a load of bars that I'd have to climb over to reach him. For Holly thought, I caught up with her and wrapped my arms around her thin body. I lifted her up and she screamed so loud I thought my ear drums would burst. Lay in my arms, I felt the rush of her heart beat as she stared back into my eyes. I was about to kiss her for the first time ever but Rex, the cheeky monkey tapped me on the back. "I wouldn't kiss my Sister if I was you…" He showed me his fist and I couldn't help but laugh at his cuteness before setting his Sister down on her feet again. Glancing back to Holly, I could see her cheeks flushing bright red with embarrassment and I really don't think she's going to look at me. Crud.

* * *

**Holly Applelyn**

* * *

My cheeks flame a bright red and immediately I have to turn away from Caleb. Shit. I cannot let him see me blush like this. My stomach knotted and twisted until it hurt. Luckily I heard Caleb say behind me, "Rides here…" Thank goodness!

Rex wanted to hold my hand when he saw the man dressed all in black wearing sunglasses when there is no proper sun out. I think Rex is a little bit nervous to be around him. His fingers trap mine tightly. His big eyes glance up at me and I mouth back, "Everything. Will. Be. Okay." Rex responds with a nod of his head before glancing back at the muscular built man.

"Hey Taylor, thanks for picking us up man. Oh, Taylor this is Holly and Rex Applelyn." Caleb turns to me and Rex, "This is Taylor our security guard slash driver…"

This is so weird. I've never known anyone to have a driver and especially not one that looks so out of place to be a driver. Where is the driver's hat? I held my hand out, not sure whether or not it was a good idea to or not but Caleb didn't stop me so I assume it was okay to. "Nice to meet you Taylor…"

Taylor took my hand and shook my hand, "Pleasure to meet you Miss…" Once the awkwardness of letting go of my hand goes, he turns slightly to Caleb, "Your parent's are expecting you all now…"

"Yes, right, of course," Caleb mumbled to himself as Taylor opened up the door. Taylor gestures for Rex to go in first and I climb in afterwards and Caleb follows. I have never been in a limo before and neither has Rex. This is going to be another life experience.

My stomach buzzed with nerves. I couldn't relax in the car ride over to his place. I was impressed by the black iron gates which Taylor had to tap in a password before they opened and closed behind us as we drove down the drive. Rex is impressed too as his mouth is hung opening creating a, 'O' shape with his mouth.

"If you think that's impressive, wait till you see in side…" Caleb said, nudging Rex's arm playfully.

Rex looked over his shoulder to Caleb. "My sister doesn't like people bragging about what they have…"  
"Rex!" I said in shocked, not sure why my little Brother just said that.

"Whoa…" Caleb said holding his hands up to Rex. He looked from him to me then back to Rex again. "I'm not trying to be brag," He tells my Brother with a little frown occurring between his eyebrows. "I'm just saying I think you will enjoy yourself here…"

"Sorry," Rex said, lowering his gaze onto his small hands.

"Hey," I whispered to Caleb. "I'm sorry about Rex, he's a bit nervous. We never go out with it being difficult with my parents."

"Don't worry…" Caleb whispered back. "He's trying to be a protective Brother. It's really cute."

I smiled at him gratefully.

The Greys house is just….. WOW. It reminds me of the home we used to have before our parents broken up. I sent the tear that is trying to escape back to where it came from. No emotions, not today. I stand on the gravel and gaze up to the house. Rex is just as shocked as I am. He is holding onto my hand and I feel the sweat in his hands becoming much more. He's thinking of home too.

A young girl, probably a few years older than Caleb, with brown medium length hair comes gushing out of the front door. "Ohmygoodness," Her sweet rich voice comes gushing out too. "Aren't you two just adorable?" She comes up to me first and holds out a hand. "Nice to meet you I'm his Sister Phoebe. " She cocks her head towards Caleb who is standing behind us. "You can call me PG."

Rex giggled at her name.

I shook Phoebe's hand and said, "You too…" I smiled at her before saying, "I'm Holly or Hol for short. Whichever you prefer." I point to Rex and introduce him, "This is my little Brother Rex."

She bends over and gets in his personal space. "Hey Rex… are you into video games?"

"Who isn't?" Rex said back. I could tell instantly he liked Phoebe. He doesn't seem as nervous as before.

"Then what are we waiting for…" Phoebe holds a hand out and Rex goes with her into the house.

Caleb slings his arm around my shoulders and assures me, "He'll be okay with Phoebe…" He must have seen the anxious face I pulled as she dragged him away from me. "She adores children," Caleb continues to tell me. "She's hoping to set her own summer care group up for working Mums and Dads after she's finished her training in child care and business."

"That's awesome…" I say wishing I could have my future set in stone already.

"Holly," A lady with the same brown hair as Phoebe came rushing towards me next. This must be his Mother, Anastasia Grey. Caleb has certainly taken his Mother's beautiful looks. "It is so wonderful to finally meet you," She said down my ear as she embraces me with a hug. She stands back, holding onto my shoulders as she looks over my blue dress. "Wow, look at you… You are so pretty."

"Thank you Mrs Grey… It's a pleasure to meet you…"

"Ana," She says. "Please call me Ana…"

"Ana…" I repeat out loud, making a mental note of how she likes to be called.

She squeezed my shoulders and gestured towards the house. "Please come in, make yourself at home." That is nice of her. "Would you like a drink?" She asked as we started up the few steps.

"Water would be lovely thank you…"

She smiled again at me. "Oh we can do better than just water."

"Mum," Caleb sighed behind us. "If she wants water let her have water…"

Ana rolled her eyes at her son and then grinned at me. She is so funny. "We've got water with a hint of strawberry, tropical or summer fruits."

"Or plain old fashioned water," Caleb added. "With or without ice."  
"That's a lot of choice of water…" I said with a hint of surprise glazing my tone. I just shrugged my shoulders and answered, "Surprise me."

"Alright…" She turned to Caleb said, "Why don't you take Holly to meet you Father, he's in the game room playing some game with Teddy."

The Greys home is so amazing. It's breathtakingly incredible. Clean and cosy with family pictures hung up. They look like the perfect family in the world. We had family photos but they're broken, well, the glass is broken and they're no longer hung up on our walls. Mum destroyed them after having too much alcohol in her system. It broke my heart because they were the last happy memories we had together.

"Hey you okay?" Caleb said in a soft soothing voice as he places a gentle hand on my shoulders.

It took me a moment to realise that I have been standing in front of the picture, gazing over it but being in my own little world. I shook myself and smiled towards Caleb. "You have a beautiful family…" I say to put him of the scent of my little thoughts.

"Uh… thanks," he said awkwardly, obviously not agreeing with me. "Come on, let's go and meet my Dad."

Caleb ushered me down some stairs and then through a corridor and then through a door. This is an enormous room it holds lots of games from pool tables to pinball machine and race car games to Xbox's to PlayStations.

"Sis, come watch me play…" My Brother said excitedly, making himself at home as he played on the pinball machine. I haven't seen his face so bright with cheerfulness for a very long time.

"Ah, Miss Applelyn," A man said on the racing game that had just ended. He got out of the chair and stretched his long legs. He is a tall man and really scary looking. He's handsome but he seems really intimidating. Or maybe that's just me. "It's a pleasure…" He said holding his hand out.

"It's, um, nice to um, meet you Mr Grey…"

He points to Caleb and says, "If this one give you any trouble at all, you come straight to me, understand?"

"Dad!" Caleb whinged behind me.

Mr Grey ignored him and waited for my answer. "Yes Sir."  
"Christian please…"

I nod my head and another Grey appeared at his side. "Hi Holly, I'm Theo?"

I smiled. "I thought you were called Teddy…"

"Yeah but it's not a grown up name is it?"

"Okay Theo it is…"

After all the greetings to all of the Grey family, I managed to relax. I shook Caleb's jacket off and he took it upstairs and joined my Brother and Phoebe as they played the game. Caleb returned back and handed me my glass of water. The water is refreshingly. As I take a small sip of the liquid, it glides down soothing the back of my throat. Mmm… cold tropical water. It tastes amazing.

"Buddy?" Caleb tries to get Rex's attention. "Would you like a drink?"

"Yes please," Rex responded, concentrating on the ball in the machine. I smile at my Brother, glad he's remembered his manners.

"C'mon little man," Phoebe says as Rex looses the ball. "Let's get you something to drink and we can come back and play some more…"

"Okay PG…"

Rex goes with Phoebe upstairs whilst Caleb pulls me over towards the colourful selection of bean bags. Caleb thought it would be good to teach me how to play a fighting game on one of the games consoles. I couldn't get my head around it. I remember when I was younger, I remember my older Brother Finn playing on his all the time. I used to sit on his lap whilst he clicked and tapped the buttons on the controller. I loved spending time with my Brother, he used to let me play on an old car game he had. I used to play it all the time. Now… I don't have a clue and I can't keep up with Caleb. I flush a bunch of times, embarrassed that I'm no good at this or anything. Caleb doesn't seem to mind. He slowly tries to teach me and assures me once I've had a few more goes I would get the hang of it.

When dinner was served I knew I was going to get a barrel loaded full of questions. The Greys hardly know me so they would want to know a bit more information about us. The atmosphere was uncomfortable at the start because nobody said anything but the knives and forks were scrapping against the expensive looking plates. This food though was cooked by Mrs Taylor and gosh it tastes divine. I haven't eaten like this in what seems years.

"So Holly," Mr Grey said after he takes his sip of his wine. I snap my head up to meet his gray eyes, the same one's Caleb has. "What are your future plans?"

I press my lips together. Good question. "I'm not too sure…" I say a little nervously. His eyes are making me so nervous. I pretend I have an itch and scratch the side of my wrist but it's just my nerves. "Most likely once I'm done with school get a better job or work there till I get into a manager's position."

"Better job?" He repeats my words letting his eyes squints a little as he's waiting on my response.

"Holly works at the ice rink. She saved my ass down there from a massive pile up."

I smirk at Caleb, rethinking how clumsy he is.

Sitting at this dining table with the Grey family, watching them be bloody perfect makes my blood boil. Nobody has a perfect family, I certainly don't. But here this is one faultless family. The billionaire parents who looking lovingly down on their children who aspire to be just as flawless as them. The way they act with each other, making jokes with one another, asking about each other's day, it feels just so damn wonderful. Maybe I am jealous but who wouldn't be? They don't have arguments, well not like ones I've seen with my parents. They just seem to love each other.

A pain in chest darts in the centre. Crap! It hurts so much. I feel my breath becoming uneven and I trying to grab as much air as possible. "You alright Hols?" Caleb asks with a worried tone as he watches me carefully. He tries to not bring attention with his voice being in a whisper and I think that's just sweet. But it doesn't help the ache I have.

I drag the chair legs out on the floor and stand up. "Excuse me…" I say like I've been running for a long time and is now out of breath. I take on my heels and run outside begging for fresh air.

* * *

**A/N** – So what do you think so far?


	5. Race

**You Found Me**

* * *

**Chapter 5 – Race**

With the fresh air hitting my lungs the pain eases up slightly but something bad is still hovering deep inside. I know I'm having a panic attack and I wished I wasn't. I haven't had one for a very long time and I hope they don't start coming back to haunt me.

With both hands, I use my finger tips to rub at my temples as I try to focus on my breathing but the dizzy spell washes through me. I don't want to look stupid in front of Caleb's family, I wanted to kick on my heels and run for them metal gate, climb them to escape. But I can't beg my Brother to leave now and I'm not going to leave without him.

I feel like I have big hands that have fingers like sausages strangling around my throat, blocking the cooling air from entering my body. I fight with it. Telling myself it's all in my head. Just deep breaths and it will all be over. It doesn't of course. The pain gets worse and my stomach take a hit like someone has thrown a punch there. I remove my shaking fingers and hold onto my stomach counting in my head.

_Ten… Nine… Eight… Seven… Six… Five…. Four…. Three… Two… One…_ Counting backwards seems to settle me. The fear of the anxiety calms and my body relax a little more under the strong intense sensation.

"Do you get them often?" Mr Grey's voice says behind me. I learnt from sitting with him and his family that he has this powerful tone that makes you answer everything he asks. It's hard not to under the spell of his gray eyes that hold so much control.

I heard his steps as I count backwards in my head again. Once I control my breathing I finally answer, "Sometime." My voice is a little shaky but then I realise my entire body is trembling which is most likely from the attack. "I am sorry I-" _Ran off like that…_

"Don't apologise Holly," He reply with his gaze attached to me. He shifts and I see his shiny shoes next to me. Mr Grey makes a 'Uhmm…' sound as he takes a seat on the same step I am on. He joins his fingers together and waits a moment in silence before asking, "Is there a reason why you have them?"

He's trying to get me to explain every little detail like a frigging councillor. I don't need that. I don't need to explain myself. But I do decide to tell him the truth even though I am bitter inside and don't really want to share this with a man I've only known two minutes. "Memories…"

"Memories of what?" He snoops further.

I rub the aching feeling in my chest as I answer, "Just of what my family used to be like before everything happened." I sigh. "This is technically our first family meal and yet it's not even with our own family. Sorry. I'm trying to get my head around it."I remain my gaze to the gravel in front of me, concentrating on the small little stones and counting backwards.

"I can understand how this arrangement would be difficult for you Holly. Sometime getting away from your Moth-"

"Julia," I correct him instantly.

"Julia," He repeats and then continues, "Can be a good thing. A breather is probably what you need. Treat us like your family Holly and make yourself at home. If you need to talk about anything then I am all ears. I won't judge. I'll listen. That's if you need me, okay?"  
"Thanks Mr – I mean – Christian." But I do not need another family in my life, intruding on mine.

A small worried voice appears behind us, "Are you alright Holly?"

Glancing over my shoulder I look at Caleb, an anxious expression claims his features. I nod my head in answer to his question.

* * *

**Rex Applelyn**

* * *

My Sister left me with this lovely family. They all seem to worry over us. Now she has just ran out of the room I can see the concern on their faces.  
Christian touches the napkin to his lips and settled it besides his plate. He pushed the chair back and stood. "Son," he said to Caleb who is about to run after Holly. "Sit," Christian orders. Caleb grumbles something but my ears are way too small to catch it. Christian walks out of the room, heading in the direction of my big Sister. I wanted to go after my Sister to but my new friend Phoebe decides to ask me questions about school and what I like to do in my spare time. I try to curve the questions about my Mummy and Daddy.  
All of a sudden, Caleb bangs his fists on the table and he goes towards he kitchen.  
"Caleb, honey..." Ana says to stop him but he doesn't stop to respond. Ana smiled around the table before concentrating her full attention on me. "Would you like some more Rex?"  
I grin. "Yes please Mrs Grey."

* * *

**Holly Applelyn**

* * *

Mr Grey touches my back and I shudder underneath his contact, thinking back to a time my Mum pushed me over and made mw head butt the door. Christian stands slowly and his stare is on me with his gray eyes locked on. He stays like that for a moment before turning away heading back inside his beautiful home. I can't make out what he says to Caleb but he mutters something to his Son. Maybe it's because Mr Grey thinks I am not good enough for his Son. I'll never be good enough for anyone but myself.

Caleb takes Christians place and hands out a glass of water and Tylenol. "This should help you feel better..." I still had a pain in my chest and Id usually would take something for it.  
"I think we're equal now. I helped you out, you helped me out." I winked at him before taking the pills with the glass of water.  
He laughed. "I'm sure I'll fall over and graze my knee or something for you to patch up..."  
After swallowing the pills I respond, "I might not be there to attend to you..."  
"That's why you need a phone..."he prompts. I shake my head at him. I do not need a phone. I've lived without one and I still can.

"HOLLY!" my Brother voice shouts out, alerts me instantly like a worried Mother hen.

Rex came scrambling out of the house. "Look look!" I twist around as I place the glass on the ground.  
He has something in his hands. It is small and a whitish colour. "Is that? Is that your wobbly tooth?"  
"Yeah, it finally came out..." He has a huge grin on his cheeky chops. It's needed to come out for a while and I knew it would finally come out. At least now I don't have to take him to the dentist. "Will the tooth fairy come tonight?"  
"If you sleep they sure will..." Caleb says. I know what he's trying to do. Make sure Rex is a sleep so I can sneak in. That's cute of him."…And they might leave something behind for you..."  
"Really?" Rex said with a lot of surprise. His bulging eyes flared up and looked at me. "Really Holly?"  
"Really really," I replied. "Why don't you keep that tooth of yours safe in your coat pocket so you won't lose it."  
"Okay..."he dashes off but pauses inside the ajar door. "Holly, are you okay?"  
I smile weakly at my Brother. "Yeah, I'm good."  
He nods his little head and runs inside.

The evening flew by too quickly for my liking. Caleb's family are very understanding and didn't bother asking me questions about the attack. Rex enjoyed himself, playing on more games they had. We made a promise to Ana that we'd stop by next week for dinner again. I didn't want to but Rex gave me no other choice but to agree as he said yes straight away.

It was lovely of Caleb to ride back with us. He didn't have to but he seemed like he wanted to. I really like Caleb, more then I should. I'm actually allowed to relax around him. Usually I wouldn't and just worry but we just seem to get on so well together. Maybe I do need to let people into my life. It'll have to be slowly though.

Taylor opened the car door and offered me him hand to help me get out. Behind me, Rex slipped out still hyped up about the tooth fairy coming. Caleb joins us from the other side of the car and I didn't expect him to lace his fingers through mine as we head up the steps to the main door.

"You don't have to come up with us…" I say to him, not wanting to trouble him any further.

Caleb smiled. "It's okay." He turned his attention on to Rex. "Hey Rex, fancy a race to the top?" He wondered, nodding towards the staircase that leads to our apartment. Rex's eyes blue eyes widened before he nods his head positioning himself at the foot of the stairs. Caleb brushes his thumb over the top of my hands before releasing the contact.

"Be careful!" I called out once they counted down to three. Caleb ran beside Rex, climbing higher on the first set but on the very last step he tripped and gave my Brother an advantage. "You okay?" I called up as I started up the stairs myself.

Caleb looked over his shoulders as he got back to his feet and he winked towards me before speeding away and leaving me alone, chasing after my Brother who displayed happy giggles all the way to the top.

When I arrived up at the top of the stairs, Caleb lay flat on his back, gazing up to the ceiling. He's all puffed out of breath with his chest rising and falling quickly.

"Can you open the door Holly?" My Brother captured my attention. "I need a wee," He told me, hoping from one leg to the other.

I stepped over Caleb, shaking my head at him whilst pulling the keys from my bag. I unlock the door and opened it, only so wide, so Rex could squeeze through. He darts in and closes the door and I really hope the wicked witch of the west isn't up yet.

Spinning around, I beam down to Caleb, finding it way to funny that he's completely wiped out.

"That little guy can run," Caleb announced as he took my hand. I help pull him to his feet before he told me, "I wasn't even letting him win."

_Yeah right!_ I laughed. "I probably should have warned you ever to pick a race with my little Brother, he never fails."

Under Caleb's gaze, I suddenly felt a little flushed an embarrassed and I sunk my eyes to the floor whilst the colour floods to cheeks. Caleb steps forwards and his heat surrounds me. It's almost like being wrapped up in a warm blanket. Caleb's fingers lifted up and smoothed along my cheek making the skin burn on fire. _Holy crap._ He leans in and hovers his lips in front of mine. My heart is suddenly racing and my breaths are matching his like I've just run a marathon against my Brother. I suddenly think he's going to kiss me on the lips. But he doesn't. Instead, he opts for the redden cheeks. In a small whisper as my skin heats to the extreme he says, "I really enjoyed today, thank you for coming."

"It was a pleasure, thank you for inviting us," was all I could think of to say as my brain is all mush.

"Oh," He digs into his jean pocket and obtains his wallet. What on earth? "Here," He stuffs a couple of dollars into the palm of my hand and steps away so I can't give it back to him. "Put it under Rex's pillow."

"Caleb, no, it's fine, I can-"

He shakes his head, forcing me to stop speaking. "No, this is my treat. That kids adorable." Well, I'm glad he thinks so. "He's lucky to have you as a big Sister.

"Thank you," I say stepping forwards and hugging him, taking in his rich scent in. A smile forms on his lips and I can feel against my shoulder. As I release him from the hug, he kisses my cheek again before stepping away again.

"Sweet dreams Holly."  
"You too…" I called back, watching him as he backs away to the stairs.

Inside the apartment, it's dark and silent, apart from Rex in the bathroom. Julia must be in her bedroom but I won't check on her just yet. I went into the bathroom and helped Rex have a bath, making sure all the soap in his hair is all gone with the cold water that makes him shiver. He bugs me about money and when we can have water and the electricity on. He even offers the money he'll get from the tooth fairy and when he says it I want to cry because that's the sweetest thing ever. When he was ready for bed, I take him to my room and tuck him in and read him a story about some robots before he falls asleep. Making sure he's not awake, I then slip the money under the pillow and take the tooth.

When I leave the room and close the door behind me, I hear Julia calling for me. I roll my eyes and head into her room. "What do you want?" I snapped at her. She's lay on her bed, bottles everywhere which I'll have to pick up later so I don't trip over them.

"Where have you been? I have been waiting for ages!" She continues to rant on, "I want the bottle opener; I can't drink this without it." She pulls out another bottle of something which I can't read in the darkness.

"You have legs; get it your damn self." I rolled my eyes and left the room.

Moments later, she appears from her room huffing, puffing and cursing like hell. I'm sat at the dining table, doing my homework ready for tomorrow and the next few days. She staggers across the room in her drunken state; the stench is brought with her. I watch from the sidelines as she makes her way to the kitchen unit through the moonlit room. "You…. You are such a nasty p-piece. Can't you do anything for you Mother. You are a waste of space and breath. You'd be better off being dead."

Ignoring her, I gather my stuff up because I need to take Panda for a walk after she's gone back to bed. When I've collected all my things, stuffing them in my bag, I stand and Julia is right there in front of me. With a lazy effort she shoves me against the back of the chair. "You don't de-deserve the same air we breathe…"Alongside her words, I feel the pointy, swirly, end of the bottle opener, dig into my stomach and scrape down. I screech through my teeth, trying to keep the sound as quiet as possible. She pushes me down from the floor and I well aware what's going to happen next. "Maybe…" She kicks me. "Just Maybe." She kicks me in the stomach again. "This should teach you some manors and respect!" Julia kicked hard one last time before stumbling back to her room taking a swig of her drink, leaving me in a puddle of hurt, pain and tears.

* * *

**A/N** - So what do you think so far? What would you like to see happen next?


	6. Fretting

**You Found Me**

* * *

**Chapter 6 – Fretting **

**Caleb Grey**

When I arrived home Teddy came walking through and heading into the kitchen, probably still hungry for something else. Dinner never ever satisfies him. "Dad wants a word with you," He tells me, saying it in a tone that sounds like I'm in some kind of trouble.

"What about?" I ask, hoping he'd know the answer.

Teddy shrugs his shoulders. "How should I know?"

"Well, do you at least know where he is?"

"Dunno!" He calls out to me as he adventures into the kitchen, digging around in the cupboards to find something to fill his stomach.

I take a quick peek around the living room but no one is there so I decided to try Dad office. Rattling my knuckles against the door, I peek it open and see him sat at his desk. "Dad, can I come in?" Dad remains silent and calls me over with a gesture of his index finger. I go in and close the door behind me. Before I walk the distance between us he starts to speak to me, "Holly is a nice girl."

"I know." That's why I'm dating her. In the centre of the room, I feel odd just standing there with my arms limp to my side so I dig my hands into my pockets. "What's this all about Dad?"

Dad's office door crept open without a knock. "Dad," My Sister's voice rang through. "Sorry, I didn't know you were having a chat. Um. Can I go over to Amber's she's having a crisis?"

"Ask your Mother," Dad responded to her. "And if she says yes, let Taylor drive you."

"Thanks Daddy!" My Sister says and the next thing I hear is the door being closed.

Dad's gray eyes remain on mine as he pushes himself away from his desk and around to front where he perches on the edge of his desk. "Caleb, I want you to take things slow with her."

Wow, I didn't expect him to come out with that. With Teddy he's always cheering him on. "That's what I'm planning…" I've liked this girl since forever I'm not going to be a douche ball and screw everything to just toss it into the trash.

"In case anything should happen," Dad says and I knew instantly what this is all about.

I groan, "Oh Dad, please no, I don't want to hear-"

Dad curves his body around and reaches for a brown paper bag that's sitting on his desk. "Use these," he says, tossing the brown back to me which I catch with ease.

I open the bag up to see a whole lot of condoms. "You are unbelievable!"

"I just want you to be safe, Son. There should be no shame in it."  
I glance at the bag in my hand and shake my head side to side. "Just because you and Mum go at it like rabbits doesn't mean we'll be the same." I caught them once and I swear down it gave me nightmares for a week. No teenage hormonal boy wants to see his father do disgusting things to his Mother. Even the thought cringes me out. I might need to throw up soon. I turn my thoughts away and picture Holly in her broken glasses. "I want to be the perfect gentleman. Now," I throw my thumb over my shoulder towards the door. "Can I go before I'm mortified even more?"

Dad nods his head and I take that queue to leave instantly. I turn and as I reach for the door handle and his voice pauses me again. "If you need any advice Caleb you know I'm always here."

"Gotcha! Bye Dad!" I wrenched the door open and ran for my life.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Aimee slams her tray down onto the table making a statement as I search the room for Holly. She didn't show today at in English and she wasn't on the stairs. I had a horrible feeling that she was avoiding me. But we had a great time yesterday with my family and little Rex. We enjoyed ourselves. Maybe I said something. Or I could be worry over nothing. She could have decided to skip because she has detention that Mr Reeves gave her last week.

Aimee was waiting for me to reply to her question so I muttered, "Nothing."  
"Bull shit!"

"It's that girl, Holly," Matt said setting his tray besides mine. "She's really gotten to him."

"Well duh," Aimee says tossing a fries across in Matt's direction hitting him on the face. "He's fancied her since we were like six."

"I never said that…" I say with a frown on my face. How can she know that? I never told her.

"Caleb it's written all over your god damn face, especially when she's in the room." She rolls her eyes at me as if I should be aware of how I am around Holly.

All afternoon I worried that I'd stuffed it up with Holly. I couldn't concentrate on my work and made a ton of mistakes which the teacher caught me out on. Once the end bell rang, I got out as quickly as I could and pushed past a few people in my haste to get to the car. Taylor stood with the door open when he saw me. "I need you to drive to Holly's. It's an emergency." I jump into the car and buckle up as Taylor nodded and quickly jumping into the front seat, detecting the urgency from my voice.

When I get to her place, I leap out of the vehicle as quickly as I could and rush up the stairs. It seems much easier to run up these steps rather than chasing a little boy who can outrun me. When I get to the top, I bag my fist on the door and wait. I wait some more before knocking again. But I get no answer. I try the door handle but it's locked so she must be out somewhere. The only place I can think of it the ice rink. Hurrying back down the stair, I slip on one of the steps and end up slipping down them. "FUCK!" I shout out, quickly pushing myself up with aid of the banister.

When I do get to the top, I bang my fist on the door and wait. After waiting I knock again a little bit louder and then I wait some more before knocking again. For the three times, I get no answer so I try the door handle. I don't want to be rude and go in but I need to see if she's alright otherwise I'll be going out of my mind till I do see her. The door handle, however, is locked and there is no way in. The only place I can think of that she could be is at the ice rink.

Hurrying back down the stairs, I accidently slip on of the steps, sending me crashing down to the bottom. "Fuck!" My voice rings out loudly, capturing nobody's attention. Not really worried about myself, I push up against the banister and carefully go down the remainder steps.

* * *

**Holly Applelyn**

* * *

Around my little Brother Rex, I try to act normal like nothing in my life is giving me and pain. But in reality my entire life is a damn pain, pain in the ass that is. I decided to skip school because taking my bike would hurt way too much. I can just about walk without the pain hurting too much. Its looks much worse than it is but I think a day's rest will help. I walk Rex to school and I ask Mr Ravin's if he wouldn't mind have Rex stay over the night. I need him far away from Julia as possible. Her state is impossible to live with and I don't want Rex being the one caught at the end of a bottle opener. Mr Ravin's clears it with Mrs Ravin's and it's all settled. I tell Rex to go home with Zeke and he's really excited. Then I have the day to myself. I don't want to go home and I don't think Panda does either. So I head to the park and relax. I remember the moment when I watch Caleb chase after my Brother. That was cute. He's great with kids. He'll be a great Father when he has children. My thoughts turn back onto my own and how I'd never get that bond with him again now he's off with Ms Plastic. My life is totally fucked up.

When the time comes, I return Panda home and the place is trashed with bottles. I roll my eyes and decide to clean this up later when I get back from my second job. At least I have pay day at the end of the week and then I'll be able to get the heating running up and the electric so I'll be able to see where I'm going.

At work I ask the boss if I can stay in the back room, handing out the skates and dealing with the smelly socks. Luckily, he had no problem with that and told me we had a big party coming so I would be needed in the backroom anyway. After changing into my work clothes, refusing to look at my wound, I plaster a fake smile on my lips and walk out with everything hanging over my head waiting for my return.

_711._ I strolled down the row and found the scruffy old tatty trainers and replaced the skates back in. Holding the trainers at arm's length, I walk back to the desk. God, they smell terrible. I pass them over and with a fake customer service tone said, "Have a nice evening."

I returned down to the paper work to acknowledge which number had been returned when a voice captures my attention. "I missed you today." Caleb? What's he doing here?

"There isn't much to miss," I said, unable to hide my sullen mood any longer. I shake my head at myself. That was a little harsh. "Sorry." I felt like I need to explain to Caleb so I add, "I haven't been feeling well."

Caleb straightens up and his gray eyes widen. "Are you alright? Have you seen a Dr? You look a little pale."

"Yes, no, I'll be fine by morning." I finish ticking a box on my worksheet and I shove it into a folder with the rest. "So what brings you here today?" Before he could answer I say, "Skating alone? That risky for you, I'll have to radio Josh to warm him."

Caleb mutters a laugh and the sound is so nice to hear it makes me return the devilish grin that's been dying to come out. I look over to his pink lips and they're quirking up at either side into a bright sexy smile which are totally hot and hard to resist. I bite my teeth into my bottom lip to try and calm myself down. I do not want to slide over the desk and grab him to have those lips on mine. No. No. No. Get that thought out of your head Holly! When he speaks, I realise I've just stared at him for a good minute or two. Shit! "I'm still waiting on my lesson and to help you with your phone call issue."

"It's not an issue," I say as another couple of couples come up to the desk. I stop talking to Caleb and deal with the customers. I'm run all over the shop for sizes. 312, 421, 802 and 11.9. Once the customers have moved their butts away, Caleb returns to the space with a can of coke in his grip which he must have got out of the vending machine. "I can live without a phone."  
"In emergencies you need one, Holly," He said with such seriousness.  
"I'd never use it."  
"It wouldn't matter as long as you have one you can always call if you're in trouble or for an emergency."

"I guess," I say, giving in to him. How am I supposed to argue with that face?

Caleb sipped his drink and winked at me. My cheeks blush slightly and I try to ignore it by fiddling with the frames of my glass, pretending a spec of something is blurring my vision. I wipe the glasses over with the bottom of my polo shirt and gently raise it back down gently. I get a touch of pain but it soon ends and I try and forget about it.

"Bet Rex was please this morning…"

"Yes he was. He woke up early to check to see if the fairy had come. By the way he bounced off the walls they had."  
"I'm glad. Rex is-"

"Holly!" My boss's voice rang through the back door which makes me automatically sigh and shake my head at Caleb. "We've got that party coming down now. Call Josh to help you. Linda is coming down in a sec to man the ice."

"Sure," I reply with a lazy tone. When my boss has gone I give Caleb an apologetic look. "Sorry, I'm going to be rushed off my feet."

Caleb simply put's a hand up in the air and wave before heading over to the pool table. He's waiting for me isn't he? I can't have him wait for me. I have my bar job to attend straight after. Crud. Before I could worry over anymore the loud footsteps capture my attention and I knew the party crowd are heading down. So I call on Josh to help me.

"There you go mate!" Josh said, pressing against me, handing the pair of skates over the counter to the customer who booked the party. "Have a fab time."

With my stomach pressed against the desk, I wince loudly at the sharp stinging pain stabbing into my stomach. "Holly?!" Josh steps back, his voice laced with concern. "Are you okay? I didn't mean-"

"Holly?" Another anxious tone entered the air. Of course it's Caleb. He's been watching me the entire time I've been working. I've tried to ignore him but there is something about him that kept me sneaking a look every now and again. "What's wrong?"

"Give me a few minutes," I say to Josh. I take a step back and turn away from both of them. My body becomes a little weak and I press my hand against the shelved boxes the skates are stored. I take a couple of deep breaths and grit my teeth hard together to help reduce the pain.

"You're bleeding!" I hear Caleb's voice before seeing him standing feet away. He gasps as I follow his stare down to the blood stained polo shirt.

Oh boy! "I'm okay," I assure him with an unconfident tone. I try to twist away from him but he captures my wrist and spins me back to face him. He gives me a warning look which tells me to stay where I am. My eyes follow him as he heads to Josh asking for the first aid kit. I don't need to look at it but I know Caleb see's it he'll freak out and panic and will be rushing me to hospital as quickly as possible.

Caleb marches back, places the kit down on the nearest side. "How the tables have turned," He said jokingly. Usually, it would be me fixing him up. After a wink over his shoulder he grabs a few items and faces me again. "Lift up," he gestures to the top.

I bite my lip nervously. I cannot let him see. There is no way. "I'll do it," I finally respond, holding my hand out for the wipe he has in his hand.

"It's only fair if I do it." He sticks his tongue out.

With a heavy sigh, I roll the bottom of my top up for him to see the mess drilled into my skin.

"Holy fucking Christ, Holly!" I closed my eyes and I knew his or anybodies reaction would be like this. "I'm taking you to see a Dr."  
I swing my eyes open. "No!" I protest. "Honestly, I'm okay. Please Caleb, don't worry. I'm fine. It looks worse. I promise."

He watches me for a moment before finally agreeing to deal with it here. "Let me bandage it up for you." I nod my head. "How did you do it?" He asked me.

_LIE! _ Well duh! "I fell over my dog onto something sharp when I was getting a drink last night," I tell him.

He seems to believe me as he starts fixing me up. "You could need stitches in it," Caleb warns me as he dabs the cloth against my skin. I wince and he immediately expresses his apologizes, not wanting me to hurt anymore then I have to. Which I find is really sweet of him.

"Don't be sorry. It's my fault. I shouldn't walk in the dark." I wish I didn't have to cover up for Julia. I wonder what it would be like if I told the truth. If I confessed everything right now. It would probably split me and Rex up and neither of us wants that. "You didn't tell me your reasons for being here earlier?" I say moving the conversation away before I make the biggest mistake of my life by blurting everything out.

"I- um – I was wondering if you fancy grabbing something to eat with me later. You've got some homework you need to catch up with Reeves. He'd be pleased that you'd done the work even though you weren't there."

"Crap! I missed the detention, didn't I?"Caleb nods his head. "He's going to be a super ass tomorrow then."  
Caleb laughed. "Super double ass. But don't worry I'll have your back." Caleb removed his hands and from that moment something inside me screamed out. I didn't want his hands to stop touching me. They were nice where they were. Touching my skin that's never been touched by another person like this. I actually like the feeling of his warm skin against my cold. He's hands return with a bandage and his touch relaxed me again. "So, about getting something to eat, you in?"  
"I don't want to sound rude Caleb; It's just I need to go home tonight." A tiny frown hinting over his brow and I can tell he's a little annoyed. "But, how about Friday when I finish work? I can have a friend look after Rex."

"Y'know, I don't mind taking Rex with us. I'm not trying to pull you away from your responsibilities Holly. I really like you and I know Rex is a part of you, so you have no need to hand him off to someone else." His eyes never left mine and I felt a little overwhelmed. No one has ever liked me before. Usually I'm just that nobody that looks like a class clown with broken glasses. "I'm not saying alone time wouldn't be great with you."  
"Holly buns, are you done? I need your help right now before the boss sees you slacking."  
"Coming!"

* * *

**A/N - **What do you think so far? Let me know and review.


	7. Hide and seek

**You Found Me**

* * *

**Chapter 7 – Hide and seek**

Holly Applelyn

My second boss, at the bar, is a pain in the ass too. He has me running around just like I was at the ice rink. He's making me serve a bachelor party in one of the private rooms and I don't like the way all the guys eyes are pouring over me. I try to go in and out when I have their refills but on this occasion someone is blocking my entrance and isn't letting escape. The smell of booze is lingering from the male. He's got blonde shaggy hair, his eyes are blood shot red and his words are all slurred. "You… are… staying… here…" I managed to understand. Even I know he's had far too much alcohol. I try to ask the douche ball politely to move out of my way but he's too drink to even understand. I'm never comfortable around people who have no clue what they're doing. Especially Julia. But this is my job and I have to get through it even if I am a uncomfortable fifteen year old. If only my boss knew how old I am then I wouldn't be allowed to work here. It does run through my damn mind all the time. Maybe like would be a little bit better if I blurted my age out but I have to think of the monkey. It's the money I need to be able to live and keep my little Brother safe.

I push the drunken guy aside, not with a strong force but with enough so he's out of my way. As I pass him though, he stumbles over his feet but latches onto a nearby table to keep himself upright and not falling over.

As I head back over to the bar where the other bar girl, Kelly, is waiting for customers, I sigh deeply. There is only going to be so long I can take this. I ask Kelly if she wouldn't mind swapping and attend to the bachelor party next. She'd rather be kept busy then stay at the quiet evening bar.

"I want a beer," Some man in a sharp suit says, handing me the cash. He doesn't say, 'please' and I don't think I'll get a thank you either. I tap the till and get his change. He puts his hand out without even looking at me. I slide the coins into his palm and bent down to get his drink. My stomach hurts so much but I grit my teeth through the pain and stand up quickly. I knock off the cap and hand the cold beer towards him. I told you I wouldn't get a thank you. He picked the bottle up and gave me a once over as he puts the brown glass to his lips. Disgusting!

When I looked over his shoulder towards the main door, I froze to my spot. WHAT THE FUCK! This is not happening to me. Why? Oh Why?! Fuck! Shit! Bumble balls! I look left and then right as if it'll help me. What do I do know?

I can't get caught, it'll destroy everything. They will find out and Rex will be taken away from me. Holy shit! I crouch back down to the floor hoping he doesn't want a drink or look over the bar to see me. My stomach is hurting again but I don't care. I'm pumped with adrenaline and fear to even register any pain. I crawl along the floor and realise how sticky it is. Someone needs to clean this and that someone will probably be me.

"What are you doing down there?" A girl voice captures my attention. When I look from the dirty floor up I see Kelly standing at the end of the bar. She has her arms crossing over her chest and is looking down at me as if I'm weird. I actually do look insane crawling along a disgusting floor.

"I've dropped something and I don't know where it's gone," the lie slips off my lips before I could stop it. Everything out of my mouth tends to be a lie these days and I wish I didn't have to. I just want one day for myself, free of spouting lies and for everything to be perfect. But that dream will never come true. Kelly steps around me with a tray in her hands. "The guys in there are requesting you…" She tells me.

Slowly, I start to stand up and I peek over the ledge of the bar to see if I can spot him in the small handful of people. "Sure," I agree and stand up straight. "After my…" I quickly turn around to face Kelly. Shit. Shit. Shit. I can feel his eyes burning into the back of me where he's standing in the entryway of the bachelor party. Please don't see me! Please don't see me!

"Are you alright?" Kelly asks stepping closer to me. "You've gone paler. Do you need a doctor?"

I shake my head. Not a doctor, an invisible cloak maybe. "I'm going on a break," I tell her keeping my voice down so_ he_ can't hear me. I dart for the back room as quickly as my little legs will take me.

"But they want-"

I slam the door behind me and rest my back against the wood. My chest is rising up and down while a pain sharp pain shoots through me. My stomach is hurting more now and I can feel blood trickling but it's all kept under the bandage Caleb helped me with earlier.

I bang my head against the door in frustration. Tonight is going to test me for sure.

After a groan, I step across to the small kitchen unit and watch my face at the skin, washing away the days grime and the thick layer of sweat from across my forehead. It is true; it does look like I need a Doctor. My skin is pale and waxy looking like I'm sick with something and dark shadows are painted under my eyes, make me look like I've been up for hours.

All of a sudden, a plan struck me. With a black band on my wrist, I pull my hair up and into a messy ponytail. I took my glasses off but I can't see anything far away but a blur of things. Hoping Kelly won't mind, I sneak into her locker and pull out her make-up bag and go for a completely different look so I won't get recognised as being me.

After ten minutes, I slip out of the backroom and back into the bar. It's a little busy and I'm glad I don't see him in here. I'm sort of safe, even with a face full of caked make up on to hide my identity. "They want you to bring the shots in…" Kelly said slamming another tray down on the bar. I watch her as she rolls her eyes to the back of her head. Suddenly her entire body language changes as the irritation inside of her slips away and is replaced with shock and surprise. Instead of the angry look on her face she seems more pleased. "Aren't you a sexy chick!" She tells me as she steps closer to look at my handy work. "You should dress like that more often." She points her thumb to the door of the party, "But they still want their shots. I'll help you get them ready."

"Thanks," Is all I can say.

Along with the music hammering through the private function room, the voice's of all the shouting men are very loud and ear deafening when I return. "Everyone ready for a good time?!" I shout to them all.

They all respond with a cheer of, "HELL YEAH!"

I started to hand the shots out when I see him out of the corner of my eye. He's sitting along the side with another man who doesn't seem to be enjoying the party. I decided to go over towards him and the other man, who are both dressed in suits and not joining in with the rest of the rowdy bunch. "Here you are guys," I said, trying to change my tone, hoping he won't register to who I am. Hopefully the dark eye make–up will hide me well enough.

"No thank you," Christian said. His familiar voice is a chill down my spine. Please don't say anything. "We'd both rather have one of your best red wines."

"I'll see to it straight away," I said taking back the shots I had placed on the table near them. I let the husband-to-be take the shots before leaving the room. On my way out, I couldn't help but notice the drunken man who had previously stopped me is now lying underneath a table, snoring his head off. I'll have to call one of the security guys to come and toss his ass into a cab.

"Boss wants them to spend more money," Kelly tells me. "He's moaning that we're not forcing the goods."

"They'll need more shots soon anyway," I tell her as I round the bar and set my tray down for more alcohol.

"I'm going to go for a quick break and then I'll come and help you with them."

I nod my head and let her pass me by so she can get to the backroom. Once the door closes a coughing sound comes from behind me. I twist around to see Christian standing beside the bar. "Hello Holly," Christian started with a cool voice. I gulped. Oh bum! "I'm a little confused about something," He said leaning an arm against the top of the bar and rubbing his chin. I could feel my heart rate picking up and I swear he can hear it to. My entire body froze on the spot and a nervous and anxious tremble ran through me. "You are either 15 years old, working in a bar and dating my Son or your 21 and dating a 15 year old boy. Which is it going to be Holly?"


End file.
